Seven 'Shots
by Fruipit
Summary: Seven oneshots for the seven days of Taang Week 2013! Love, friendship and angst ensue.
1. Day One - Regret

Regret

_verb_ [**regrets, regretting, regretted**]  
1. [to] feel sad, repentant, or disappointed over (something that one has done or failed to do)

* * *

Digging her toes into the dirt, she changes it to sand, if only so she can blind herself to the actions of those around her. She sits, alone, the dirt tables and chairs created especially for her reminding her of what a terrible person she is.

The people she is surrounded by are her family - they are her rock when she needs comfort or just wants a friend. She has no right to feel the way she does, but as he comes closer she can't help her stomach drop, and she almost earthbends a hole to escape through. She has already dug one figuratively - why not get it over with and disappear?

"Toph! Come dance, it's really fun!" the Avatar calls, pulling her from her chair. She stumbles, feet caught in the sand and he quickly catches her. He is smiling, she knows it, but for some reason, it makes it all the more painful. Her hand is wrenched from his as she walks away without a word. She runs to the wooden house, bridesmaid dress flapping around her ankles as she escapes. Not for long, and not long enough, as he follows her, kissing his wife to assure her nothing is wrong. He calls her name as he enters the house but he knows straight away that it is not necessary. There is only one person who would sob with such heartfelt abandon - a person who has bottled up her fears and grievances for too long.

He has never heard her cry, and knows there is very little that could cause her to shed such painful tears. She doesn't hear him approach the room she has holed herself up in; he doesn't tell her he is there until his hand is on her face, wiping away the tear- and makeup-stained cheeks. She gasps at the unexpected sensation, and he hugs her tight and close. She squirms from his grip but he refuses to yield - she is his best friend, there is nothing he wouldn't do for her.

The contact brings forth yet another round of hysterics, and he can't stop the question as it flows from his tongue; "What's wrong?". She shakes her head, but he presses further. "What can I do?" She looks at him with blind eyes, teetering on the edge of hiding away or telling him.

She doesn't know how he will react if she tells him, but she can't help it - she cannot live her life without letting him know, somehow. She made that mistake with the other one.

If she had been in a happier state of mind, she possibly would have laughed at the situation. The blind tomboy, incapable of showing emotions yet falling in love with her two best friends? Even at the wedding of the Avatar, she holds on to the vague hope that someone will love her. It hurts, far more than she has ever let on, that the people she has loved have never noticed nor reciprocated.

She tells him she wants - needs - one thing, and he agrees to it readily. Anything to make his best friend happy, he reasons. Katara, his wife, is happy. Her brother and his spouse are in the throes of having a young child, yet they are more joyous than the Avatar has ever seen them. And the Fire Lord and Lady have brought their own nation back from the brink of destruction and poverty. Everyone is happy, himself included, except for his young friend. If he had more sense, he would have realised why, just by thinking of the reasons everyone else was happy.

He looks from emerald green eyes to the window, blue skies like a painting beckoning he return soon to the party - his party. He can see Katara coming up the pathway, wondering where he is. He opens his mouth to tell Toph that perhaps she would be better to talk to, when suddenly she throws herself on him, nipping at his mouth and tugging on his lips.

She has never kissed anyone before, it is obvious from the beginning. She cups his face and still he doesn't respond. He sits in shock as he realises what she is doing, the motions uncoordinated and wet as her tears begin leaking again, down her cheeks and over their intertwined mouths. He cannot think, because as much as he loves her, he never wanted to be with her. He goes to push her off, alas too late. Katara bursts through the door and Toph jumps away, pink cheeked and red eyed. The waterbender has no idea what to think, and stands stock still. Aang looks up at his wife, hurt on her features as the scene replays in front of her mind. Toph slides off the bed and pushes past her friend without a word, cold and numb.

It registers in her mind that it was wrong, but she cannot find it in herself to feel guilty. She hasn't felt anything but loneliness and desolation for months - but, now she knows she will always be lonely. She hadn't heard Katara walking up the stairs, so desperate was her attempt. The realisation brings forth a fresh round of tears as, with shaky fingers, she dresses into her light travel pants and shirt. She cannot stay here now - not now he knows, that she knows.

Perhaps she was always meant to be alone.


	2. Day Two - Balance

Balance

_noun_ [**mass noun**]  
1. [an] even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady

* * *

"Ughh..."

Toph groaned and rolled flat onto her stomach, squeezing her eyes shut. Her head was pounding, a dull _dunthdunthdunth_, and her seismic sense was all fuzzy. She couldn't see anyone, and she crawled from her tent, stumbling slightly. Reaching a filthy hand up, she wiped it across her forehead, surprised when it smeared across the perspiration.

Pulling herself to her feet, Toph only managed to take a couple of steps before she fell forward, landing roughly and painfully on the hard earth that had refused to yield to her. Sitting up groggily, she twisted her hand in an attempt to raise the earth underneath her. It didn't respond.

Eyes wide, headache forgotten, she pulled herself into a standing position, wobbling as she sunk low into her earthbending stance. She could hear movement and the _snkkk-krrr_ of a snoring Sokka - they must be waking up soon - and she took a step forward, kicking the ground in an attempt to make it do something, anything! Suddenly, a jolt through her stomach rendered her incapable of remaining on her feet. Falling backwards, she felt her eyes prickling as she clutched her stomach, confused and lost.

There was a yawn in the distance - much too loud for Katara, and Sokka was still snoring.

"Morning, Toph!" Aang called out to her. She could hear him digging through the bags, probably trying to find food. The very thought made her feel even sicker, and she desperately wanted to crawl to her earth tent and ignore the world - and him. Unfortunately, her legs seemed to be unwilling to respond, and she sat miserably in the dirt, trying desperately to hold back the tears.

Why wasn't it working? Why couldn't she bend, or move, or do anything? _The last time I felt this helpless, _she thought disconsolately, _was when I ran away to the badgermoles for the first time._ She heard a loud clatter, and then a vzzwhooshff, and suddenly Aang was next to her, probably smiling or some nonsense.

"Are you okay, Toph? You look really pale..." he asked, the worry in his tone both nauseating and strangely comforting. She glared up at him, pride demanding that she announce she was fine and leave before common sense (not something she conversed with regularly) pushed its way into her mind.

What purpose would it serve if she said no? Everyone became sick at some stage, and she wouldn't be doing herself any favours continuing in such a state. She couldn't protect herself, let alone the Avatar (who couldn't even lift a decent sized boulder yet). She wouldn't be helping the group, especially if they were attacked. She could barely walk. The very thought of being helpless, subject to anything anyone wanted to do to her brought the tears to her eyes and she looked away quickly.

"I can't see..." she whispered, barely audible even to herself.

"Sorry?" Aang knelt down, his knees making an audible _crk_, and her heart caught in her throat.

Slowly, a tear trickled down her cheek as her innocent face crumpled in on itself, much like the death of a star.

"I- I can't see, Aang. It's not working." She tried so desperately to keep the tears at bay, but as her voice cracked on the last word she found it to be impossible. Ashamed of her own weakness, she wiped her eyes clumsily and began crawling away, not really sure where she was going but just desperate to get away from him.

For his part, Aang merely sat there, looking after his friend confused and curious. He had no idea how to help, because he didn't know a lot about her - they had only been travelling together for several weeks, and neither had ventured further than a strictly professional relationship. Well, she had rebuked his attempts to become friends. He knew that she was hard-headed and strong-willed, that she didn't like people thinking that she was weaker because she was blind, and she always felt the need to prove herself. But this was different - she was a twelve year old girl suddenly without vision. He couldn't imagine losing his sight; there was no way he could fathom exactly how much she relied on her (honestly, far superior) way of seeing. He was dragged from pondering the correct course of action, however, when a loud _aaahh! _sounded from the forest they were camped next to.

Running towards the source, Aang stumbled on the sight of Toph stuck in a large shrub. She had just kept crawling straight ahead, and somehow had managed to get herself snagged on a plant. The tugging had only served to tangle her further and, lost and confused, she had begun to panic. He could see her face, red and wide-eyed as tears fell while she battled the plant, its' leaves _rtsllstsing_ as she continued to squirm.

"Toph!"

She stopped struggling and looked up at the sound of his voice. Light cuts and grazes were peppered over her arms and face, becoming more defined as blood seeped from them, getting lost in the tears. He bent down and began unhooking her clothes from the curved thorns and twigs of the oppressive bush. She sat stock still as he worked, although he noted that she trembled every so often.

"There, done," he announced quietly as the last of the twigs were removed and he gently pulled her from the plant. "You have leaves in your hair," he commented casually, "and some blood..."

Tapping the top of her head cautiously, Toph brushed the vegetation from the tangled mass of hair, scowling when it only caused it to get more stuck. Aang laughed lightly and began plucking the leaves from her knotted hair, pulling the tangles from it as gently as he could. He was surprised when she roughly pushed him away.

"I can do it on my own. I don't need help," she said angrily, eyes narrowed.

"Toph, you can't even see!"

"I said I can do it on my own! I don't need your help!"

"Well fine! I suppose you can make your way back to camp on your own then too, huh?" he demanded, and without waiting for an answer stormed off back to camp to prepare breakfast.

Toph stood alone in the forest, heart already pumping, threatening to break through her ribs. She started walking in the direction she heard Aang leave in, but tripped over a large root, landing roughly in front of a skunk-possum. Naturally, she had no idea that it was there until the foul smell invaded her nose and she sputtered away from it. Coughing violently, Toph clambered to her feet - only to realise that she had absolutely no idea where she was heading. Spinning around in place, she couldn't hear Aang, Katara or Sokka. Not even Appa's rather loud breathing penetrated the still forest, and she felt panic rising in her chest again.

She wanted to prove that she could do things on her own, that she wasn't dependent on anyone to survive. That plan had completely fallen through as she stood trembling in the middle of a forest, on the earth that had never failed her until now.

Taking deep, sucking breaths, Toph attempted to still the pain in her chest, not wanting the tears to drip again. She slowly lowered herself to the floor and following the root she had tripped on, worked her way back to the tree is was attached to, leaning against it with her knees tucked under her chin.

That was the position she was in when the first sob escaped her throat, a loud _snk-khrb_ that was followed by many more.

She knew she was rough, a loner that didn't like relying on others for help. She knew that Aang had only wanted to help her and she couldn't put her pride away long enough to accept. Now she was stuck in this spirit-forsaken forest, crying pitifully like the other noble girls she had met briefly. She really was a weak, blind girl, and she was surprised that Aang had even wanted her help anyway. She was mean and loud and cruel, and that was probably why her parents never let her out - they didn't want to frighten away people, or have to explain that no-one wanted to be friends because she was a horrible person.

Suddenly, a loud crack resounded through the still forest, and she looked up sharply, quickly wiping her eyes.

"Toph?" Aang's voice appeared only centimetres from her face, and without thinking about it she flew into his chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly. He gently rubbed her back as she shook in his arms, wiping her messy face on his robes before mumbling something into his chest.

"Don't leave me again."

"I'm so sorry Toph... I didn't-"

She sniffled again.

"Don- just please don't leave me..." His hand was still making the soothing circles and her grip loosened slightly.

"I wasn't thinking. I know you don't like relying on people," he whispered gently into her ear, "but you aren't weak. You're stronger than anyone I know, even without sight."

"I could've made it back on my own," she replied defiantly, and heard Aang's light laugh as it travelled through his chest with a gentle _rmmbmm_.

"I'm sure you could have. But I got worried that you'd have too long to think up revenge. This way, I get it over and done with," he played along, and she finally pulled herself away, still pink-cheeked and swollen eyed.

"Revenge, huh?" she asked, laughing a watery laugh. "I know! For being mean and yelling at me, I - your Sifu - demand you give me a piggy back ride all the way to camp and you have to give me your tent tonight."

"I don't have a tent."

Toph groaned and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Fine. But you have to create an earth tent for me. Let's see how you do."

"Whatever you say, Sifu T..." Aang replied, and she knew he was smiling. She knew she was smiling, too.

* * *

**A/N: That sobbing sound she made? Yeah, that's the same sound I made when I watched _The Outsiders_ for the first (and only) time. My parents laughed. Also, this was only half finished up until Saturday or so. Thank my wonderful beta for giving me the idea of 'Pride' :)**


	3. Day Three - Manners

Manners

_noun_ [**manner**]  
1. (**manners**) polite or well-bred social behaviour

* * *

The Avatar hadn't expected to meet any opposition at the Third Annual Meeting of the Unified Nations, a council he himself set up only a few short months after the war to help nations heal and balance themselves. However, he realised his gross mistake not two minutes into the formal dinner.

Each nation may be different, but it appeared that table etiquette was universal as he began helping himself to the roast potatocorn and eggflower displayed decoratively on his plate. Lifting the largest fork to his mouth, he became aware of the mumbling, and already self-conscious of his strange Nomadish attire, he lowered the utensil and sank in his chair. Even Katara, who was sitting across from him, was frowning - he did not miss the sly looks she gave to the other members of the council seated, imitating their actions and reactions.

Leaning to the right, he whispered into Toph's ear, asking what he did wrong. She at least seemed amused by him, and considering how much effort she put into _not_ obeying table rules on a regular basis, he knew she wouldn't yell at him.

"You have to wait for the officiators to arrive - they're gonna sit at the top of the table. Thank the spirits you're a firebender."

He turned his head fully to look at her, and alerted by the sound of movement, she peered up at him, her eyes unobscured by hair. It was only because of the importance of the meeting that she had agreed to be dressed like the dolls she hated so much, making a bet with Sokka as to who could be the most polite and formal - Aang had a suspicious feeling that Katara had convinced her brother to make the wager in the first place. The waterbender had worked her Toph's hair into an intricate French roll, placing a small flower in the top - a panda lily. Suki had managed (somehow) to convince her to put make up on, and so her cheeks were lightly dusted with a rosy pink blush. He could see the sparkling green eye shadow that only enhanced her natural hue, and Aang had to say that she looked absolutely stunning, exuding an innate beauty that even Katara hadn't managed to replicate.

"Why is that good?" he whispered back, trying to distract himself from looking too long at the gorgeous girl next to him. He earned himself another stern glare from Katara, who was trying to be prim and proper, but only managed to make herself seem impolite and distant.

"Because our food is going to be cold by the time they get here," she replied simply, and he had to smile.

It was a good forty minutes before the leaders of the nations arrived. By this stage, most of the guests had descended into a quiet hubbub, led mostly by Toph and Aang who, being the youngest guests, became fidgety within minutes. Some rules, Toph had reasoned, where meant to be broken - no talking at the table was one. Her father regularly broke the 'no politics at dinner' rule, and she was happy to follow his footsteps for once.

"They're here, can I start eating now?" he asked her, looking sadly at the wilting eggflower and congealed sauce on his potatoes. Toph gave a small snort, resulting in some rather amusing looks of horror from the other guests, and whispered back a negative, smirking when she felt her friend's disappointment.

"There's more to it than that, Aang. You have potato and eggflower - you need to use the long chopsticks for the eggflower, and a waiter will come up and cut your potato. Use the third fork from the left to eat that. If he offers bread, say no, and ask for the... hmm, let's go the '63 spiced fire wine."

Aang followed her instructions to the letter, whispering to her all the goings-on of the guests around her. Sokka had already eaten his plate, Katara was watching everyone else to see what they did and Zuko was having a hearty conversation with Bumi about an amusement park for Ember Island. When Aang looked back at the girl sitting next to him, he noticed she wasn't eating.

"Aren't you hungry, Toph?" he questioned as the waiter brought over his wine and two glasses, filling them before backing away.

"Of course I am, " she said, rolling her eyes before adding, "and just sip that wine, it's gonna be really strong."

He took a small sip, swishing the cool liquid around in his mouth before swallowing a little at a time to stop himself coughing the dry liquid up. After he overcame the strange texture, he found he quite liked the taste.

"This is really good, Toph, try some!" he said, looking at her expectantly. His smile faded a little as she grimaced and turned her head away.

"Don't you like it? I thou- why did you choose one you don't like?" Aang asked, bewildered. It was all a little too much to take in, from learning proper formal table etiquette to his friend's bipolar tendencies.

"I do like it," she sighed, turning her head to stare blankly into his chest.

He took her glass and held it out to her, touching it gently to her fingertips. "If you're hungry, why don't you eat? I can heat your food up for you, too."

Toph had taken a sip of her wine (quite a bit larger than his), and held onto the glass with such force he was almost afraid of it breaking.

"I don't know, I haven't tried it yet," she answered, face set in a hard frown. The fun the two had been having disappeared, leaving a confused and somewhat scared airbender to uncover the mysteries of an emotionally repressed earthbender.

"Toph... What's wrong?" he asked quietly, breathing into her ear so as to keep the conversation private. Whatever it was, she didn't want anyone to know.

"I can't- ugh, I can't... see anything," she finally admitted quietly. "I don't know where the food is..."

If she hadn't sounded so upset at it, Aang probably would have laughed. As it were, he knew what a sore spot her blindness could be, and looked at her grim face. He felt his chest ache, realising that no matter how hard she tried, things never had been and would never be easy for her.

"How did you know where the food was when I first met you? At your home?"

Toph slumped in her chair, abandoning the good posture she had been using throughout the meal.

"That was my parents doing. We eat the same meal whenever we have guests. The table would always be set up in the same way, the food would always be placed in the same place on the plate... They made me practise until I knew it off by heart. They didn't want me to seem weaker than I already was..."

There was nothing Aang could say to that. She would refuse, point blank, to allow him to feed her - she wasn't a child, she wasn't helpless - but he couldn't just let her starve. It wasn't fair that she had to go without food just because eating would likely result in a huge mess.

"Put your hand on the table," he whispered to her quietly. She had fallen silent after the declaration, and started when he requested her act. She raised her left hand and placed it carefully next to the bowl of soup that had been made especially for her. At least the chefs had the sense not to give a blind girl rice; that would have been a disaster. Reaching over to her, Aang placed one hand on her bowl to warm the soup before removing it and placing the spoon into her fingers.

She was looking blank ahead, but he could see the slight curving of a smile in her lips and the crinkle of her eyes, bringing out his own as she realised that he would help her. Ignoring the pointed looks from Katara now, Aang instead focused on Toph, watching her struggle to eat. She was very good at keeping the spoon level, but had difficulty in locating the soup and small noodles concealed within it. They gave up talking, with Aang forgetting about his food while he helped keep Toph clean - twice he needed to use his waterbending to prevent the soup from landing hotly in her lap. It was slow going as she balanced the difficult job of locating the soup, and then getting it to her mouth without dropping it, but soon the bowl was empty and she was gently tapping at her mouth with a serviette, removing all traces of the watery mix.

By this stage, dinner had been cleared from most places, and an exotic assortment of fruits brought out as a dessert. Aang's mouth began watering at the mere smell of the baccui berry and apple pie placed in front of him, surrounded by passionfruit and rockmelon. There was also a small plate of sliced ash banana, dipped in chocolate. Remembering what Toph had told him earlier, he requested a waiter to partition the pie into small pieces. He noticed Toph's face had fallen again, and looking at her plate he couldn't help the anger that rose in his chest.

The chefs, while probably not intending to insult her, had made a smoothie of the fruits and placed it in an ice cup, one that if broken would not damage their immaculate sets. He knew, straight away from looking at her face, that Toph didn't feel angry at the situation. Her face fell as she reached out with a small hand and touched the glass, before she hid it behind a frown of disinterest. As though she felt Aang's gaze on her, she looked up and told him, "I don't really like fruit much anyway..."

"D- d'you wanna have some of mine? I think they gave me too much," Aang asked, his heart fluttering in his chest. A light pink blush flecked her face, and Aang looked away, feeling the heat seeping into his own face.

"Oh, um... do you have any fruit slices?" Toph asked in a small voice.

"Yeah! I do - which fork do I use?" he asked quickly, his breathing fast.

Toph cocked her head a moment, a small frown that looked adorable on her features, as she said, "The small one. The prongs should only be as long as your fingernail."

Locating the correct utensil, Aang slid it into the soft fruit and picked it up - only to have it slide off the end. Toph heard the wet _slop_ as it struck his plate and stifled a giggle. Spirits, she was gorgeous when she laughed. Trying again, Aang was unable to keep the fruit on the fork again, and growled angrily. Watching Toph laugh at his temper, the airbender gave a mischievous smirk she could _feel_. Before he had a chance to think about what he was doing, Aang's fingers where gently holding onto the rockmelon as he brought it to her lips. Toph's eyes widened in surprise, and he took the opportunity to push the fruit past her lips.

Toph bit down softly on the sunset coloured fruit, and Aang felt a jolt run up his spine as her teeth lightly scraped his fingertips. Toph was a brilliant red at this point, as though frightened of her own audacity and willingness to submit.

"Do- d'you want some more?" Aang asked, his voice husky. Toph had to gulp several times before she could answer with a small,

"Uh, n-no I'm... I'm good..."

They sat in an awkward silence, until the plates where cleared away. Aang coughed several times as though he wanted to speak to Toph, but wilted under the stern and slightly angry glare of Katara. The guests remained seated until the leaders if the nations and their partners had all left. They were then free to mingle as they wished until the eleventh hour, in which they would reconvene and discuss a meeting time and place for the next time.

"Why aren't you with them?" Toph asked Aang when she had a chance, the first words she had spoken to him since she had unwittingly accepted his very intimate form of help.

"There's no point for a nation of one," he replied as he led her away, avoiding Katara who probably wanted to berate him for his terrible manners during dinner - honestly, with Toph's help, he thought he did rather well.

"You have me," she answered, before looking away quickly, embarrassed. A toothy grin erupted from Aang's face, and he leant down slowly to whisper in her ear.

"You have me," he replied, before taking her hand and leading her to the meeting room, smiling all the way.

* * *

**A/N: Not sure how much I like the ending, but I really wanted to use this idea. Inspired by chapter 40- something of The Forge of Alliegence hah (and yes, I did ask if I could use the idea, too).**


	4. Day Four - Family

Family

_noun_ [pl. **families**]  
1. a group of people related by blood or marriage

* * *

Leaping high over the blockade, Toph could feel the benders catching up. She cursed under her breath, berating herself for being caught; not once had she ever been found out, and yet one simple mistake had the entire guard after her. She was surprised The Lord of the house hadn't come after her; they didn't realise who she was, and after sneaking in a good dozen times, she knew he could earthbend. She knew he was good at it.

Diving down into the stone, the blind earthbender quickly changed direction and began burrowing beneath the men following her. She sunk a little deeper and curled up, panting heavily. She couldn't afford to be found out, no matter how she wanted to face them, those people. She was safe in her little burrow, and she would stay there until she knew it was safe to make her way back to Aang. None of her friends knew of her rendezvous at the property, and she wanted to keep it that way. They would only be in the area for another few days while Aang sorted out some uprisings, and then they were on their way.

As far as any of them knew, she had no interest in travelling to the house she was underneath, and making amends with her parents.

Growling, Toph rolled her head back and slammed it into the wall of the small cavern. Of course she wanted to see them! They were her parents; but by same token, she was their daughter, and they had never tried to contact her. Well, not after Xin Fu and Yu.

Toph had been sneaking into their house for a little under a month, hidden in walls as she watched her parents interact. It was strange; it barely felt different to her life when she was there. But, then she began noticing little nuances. Her mother had stopped painting, moving onto pottery. Her father began reading aloud. It took her four visits to realise that it was because they missed her. They never spoke to each other about it, never uttering the words, but she still knew. Her excursions became more frequent, staying longer as she listened to her father's voice (even if he was just reading tax reports, or going through his portfolio). She would remain behind after her mother had finished for the day and sneak into the arts room, going around and touching all the little pieces as she felt their texture and shape (and fixing a few that had cracked through the middle, or had a natural weakness in the clay). That's what she had been doing when the guards caught her.

It wasn't something she had ever expected to happen. She was making the usual rounds as she felt all the new pieces with her calloused fingers, when she felt _it_. Unbidden, tears formed at her eyes, and she laughed out loud at the adorable, loving, pathetic attempt of her mother to create a person, to create her. The guards had come running and she had tried to escape through the walls.

They hadn't recognised her, the guards. Crawling through the dirt, she could understand why. No longer was she the short, petite twelve-year old. Four years had matured her, in ways even she hadn't anticipated. Almost as tall as Aang, and taller than Katara, Toph had developed into a willowy youth, fierce green eyes peering blindly from behind her raven locks - the only tough physicality she sported. Even her hands and feet were cute, small. She had a peasant's perspective and drive, but to anyone looking at her, she was a noblewoman (an aspect she didn't argue too much, as it allowed her certain advantages such as drinking and access to parties that had even more alcohol).

Feeling the weight of her hotel above the ground, Toph angled upwards, waiting just below the surface until she couldn't feel anyone. Popping up (and surprising the old concierge), she brushed the worst of the dirt off and made her way to her room. She could feel a few people still up, so it couldn't be too late. Sighing relievedly, she walked to the room she was sharing with her friends, blessedly situated on the ground floor for her convenience.

She hoped that her friends were out or asleep - it wouldn't do for them to catch her (again) walking through the door covered in the dirt. The first time it had happened, she had forgotten to wipe the smile from her face. It only took her a few seconds to think up the lie of her beating the spit out of a street rat for trying to pickpocket her, but where Katara had sighed, and Sokka accepted it, Aang had looked at her curiously; it was then that she had remembered he could read heartbeats almost as well as she could.

"Toph?" Aang's voice shook her from her reverie, and she cursed inwardly.

"Hey, Aang! What's up?" she responded, biting the inside of her lip.

"I was just looking for you! I managed to stop the uprisings! Sokka figured out that the farmers weren't angry with the Fire Nation, but the Earth Kingdom. Apparently, they weren't compensated for the loss of their paddy fields, so we're heading out to Omashu in the morning to get Bumi to sign off on extra aid. I just wanted to- Toph?"

Aang peered questioningly at the girl in front of him. Toph's face had fallen, and she began to chew her lip again.

"Aang, can we hold off one more day? There's som- I... There's something I need to do..." she trailed off, upset that she was even considering it.

"Sure! Uh... do what? I mean, we've been here for a while, and there isn't a lot to do here..."

"I- I want to go and see my parents," she mumbled quietly, interlacing her fingers in front of her body, desperate for some action. She felt Aang cock his head - he must have been questioning her decision. She felt her heart sink a little at his less-than-enthusiastic response, and before he could say anything she blurted out an angry, "I can do it on my own. You go to Omashu," before turning around and exiting the small accommodations, and walking past the concierge, not entirely sure where she was going. Maybe she would face her parents tonight? Or find Katara and get her to come with her. Toph had reached the end of the short street when she felt Aang running to reach her. She stopped and turned sharply, glaring at him as he took a tentative step forward, definitely invading her space bubble.

"What?" she seethed aggressively.

"I just... well, Omashu isn't going anywhere - and I thought since they think I kidnapped you..." He made no move to come closer, but Toph got the impression that had he had room, he would have taken another step forward. "Can I come with you?"

"Don't you have more important stuff to do?" she asked angrily, although the sneer was wiped from her face when he answered, with the utmost truth and honesty,

"No, I don't."

Her face relaxed, and she looked for all the world a child again, not a teenager marked by war.

"I- I dunno how long I'm gonna stay... But if you want I guess you can come," she said, feigning nonchalance.

"Of course I want to, Toph. We can stay as long as you want..."

* * *

**A/N: Originally, I had Toph conversing with Katara, before I remembered that it's ****_Taang_**** week...**


	5. Day Five - Tattoos

Tattoos

_noun_ [sing. **tattoo**]  
1. [an] evening drum or bugle signal recalling soldiers to their quarters  
2. a mark on one's person

* * *

Watching the lively display of troops, Aang smiled and turned his gaze on his friends. It had been barely a year since he woke up from the iceberg, but surrounded by the happy faces of the people he had essentially grown up with he felt as though he had known them for a lifetime. He wasn't that goofy kid anymore. He felt as though he had aged ten years instead of one, but he also felt freer than ever. There was no war pressing down on his shoulders. The world, while still scarred and injured, needed time to heal. He couldn't force it.

It had been several months since the official end of the war, however it was only in the last week or so that all fighting had ceased. Still, there were scuffles amongst small groups, mostly defected Fire Nation soldiers and bitter Earth Kingdom citizens; Aang, luckily, was able to quash these rebellions without much difficulty. Zuko had managed to recall all the soldiers who were still loyal to him, a surprisingly large number. It had been the Kyoshi Warrior who had suggested that they too were sick of the fighting.

To commemorate the event, Fire Lord Zuko had set up a military march; he was formally disbanding the Fire Nation Army. Instead, a special Defence Force would be set up to protect the country from civil unrest - something unlikely, but possible.

The show today was meant to be a celebration of the military, and as such was held in Caldera City. All the Fire Nation citizens were welcome to attend, and the invitation had been extended to the Kings of the Earth Kingdom and the Tribal Chiefs, as well as those important to the War movement. Almost everyone who had been at Zuko's coronation had decided to attend.

"This is amazing!" Sokka cried, bringing Aang out of his memories as the Avatar looked back at the impressive display. Scores of soldiers had lined up, standing at ease as they too watched the dressage ostrich-horse performance. Even Katara looked impressed with the skill and fluidity of the cavalrymen. Surrounded by war, it was hard to remember that the military wasn't all blood and violence; it was about fostering a sense of unity within a group of people.

The performance ended as a warm breeze wound its way through the field. Aang applauded, along with the rest of his friends save for one; Toph stood up abruptly, her light dress swaying slightly in the wind as she walked away from the stands. A dark look Aang had never seen on her pretty features clouded her face as she pushed past him. He looked around at Katara and Sokka, but both had their eyes still trained on the soldiers, who had begun moving in a peculiar formation that he didn't quite understand the purpose of.

Turning around, he quietly stole through the crowd of soldiers who were standing at attention. Being an important guest of the Fire Nation, Aang and his friends had been regaled with a seat of honour, high on a podium overlooking the display. Katara and Zuko would probably berate him for leaving halfway through, but he could always blame it on Toph. Speaking of which, he couldn't see any sign of the blind earthbender. Peering at the guards, he noticed one fidgeting. Only a little, but enough.

"You there!" he said as he walked up to him. "Did you see a young woman come through here?"

"Aye, Avatar!" The deep voice of the guard echoed around in the helmet, and vaguely Aang wondered how he could speak without giving himself a headache.

"Where did she go?"

"Towards the palace, sir," came the reply. Aang frowned slightly - what business would she have in the palace?

"Avatar, sir!" the guard said, still in the same hushed tone. Aang looked up at him, eyes wide.

"I thought you should know, sir, that she seemed upset." With that, the guard stood at attention once again, leaving Aang to ponder. Why would she be upset?

Turning away from the crowd, which had begun cheering again, he walked serenely to the palace. Usually, an upset Toph was an angry Toph, and an angry Toph was far more capable of riling him up than a calm Toph. Taking some deep breaths, he was - away from the crowd - able to locate her on the first floor. Save for a few servants lounging in their quarters, and guards protecting the entrances, the palace was empty. Well, empty but for himself and the earthbender. Opening his staff, Aang jumped into the air and carefully glided to one of the windows. Landing on the wooden ledge, he almost fell off it as he heard... crying? Well, not exactly crying, but sniffling. And there was someone blowing her nose. It couldn't be anyone but Toph, so he closed his glider and carefully tiptoed along the hall until he came to a closed door. Putting his ear against the wood, he knew that this was the room she was in.

Pushing it open slowly, the first thing he noticed was how bright it was. The afternoon sun streamed into the room through the open window and assaulted his retinas, unused to such a bright room after the dark red hallway. The second thing was Toph, sitting on the window-seat and dabbing her face with a handkerchief. The third was that the entire room, including the floor, was made of wood.

"Toph?" he asked, unsure and wary. She jerked her head at the sound of his voice, but quickly lowered it until her hair was covering her eyes. Too late, however, as he had already seen the red rims. Even now as she tried to hide from him, he could see tears still marking polka dots on her sleeves.

"What do you want, Aang?" she asked, her voice low and husky, as though she needed to cough.

"I... I saw you leave and wondered if you were okay..." he said quietly, making his way towards her. Pulling his own cotton square from his sleeve, Aang sat in front of her and took her hand.

"What's wrong? You can talk to me, you know..." he told her. She didn't try to pull away as he began using his clean piece of cotton to gently wipe her face, trying hard not to smudge the already runny makeup that Katara had lightly dusted over her face.

"I just-" she stopped and sniffled, throwing her head back as she tried to hold back the water in her eyes. "This is wrong, Aang."

"What is?" he mumbled, dabbing at the corners of her useless eyes.

"This, today, the whole thing! We should- we shouldn't be _celebrating_ the war, or the army!"

"But," Aang looked at her, confused, "we aren't celebrating it. We're celebrating the end of the Fire Nation Army. Commemorating it. I don't understand."

She snorted at this and let out a humourless laugh. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

Bending the fluids out of the two handkerchiefs, Aang frowned again.

"Explain it to me then."

"Ugh, fine. You wanna know why I'm so upset? It's because people fought- people died in this war, but people seem to have forgotten all about that when there is a nice ostrich-horse show on!" she cried, her arms almost hitting Aang as she swung them around in fury.

"Toph... that's not- that's... not the real reason you're angry..." he told her quietly, almost sadly. She opened her mouth, a perfect 'O' shape as her eyes widened. "What's the real reason?" he requested gently.

It was as though a flood burst inside of his blind friend, because suddenly she was shaking as tears ran down her face, the black kohl around her eyes almost non-existent as it mixed with the pink blush.

"I felt them, Aang..." she whispered, face turned towards the bright sunlight so at odds with her mood. The tears still dripped, but her voice was steady as though she had rehearsed it a thousand times. "We fought, and I felt them die. I could feel it when their hearts stopped beating and... d'you know, people are lighter after they die? It's their soul, leaving them. An- and now I'm supposed to be out there, celebrating, congratulating the people who killed.

"And I killed. There was one soldier, he got past The Boulder - he was going for The Duke. I saw it an- and I killed him. I knew everything he felt as he died. He- his heart was racing - he was terrified. And then I realised that he didn't want to kill anyone. He was under orders. No-one who died deserved to. No-one who fought should have had to..."

She trailed off, closing her eyes as the tears slowly stopped. Aang sat there, dumbstruck as she finished the story. Looking at her, he realised just how little he knew of his friend - it had been almost eighteen months since the invasion, yet he had no idea of the trauma she had been through. He hadn't killed anyone during the invasion; the monk's conscience was clear. He knew that Katara had only had to restrain the soldiers, and Sokka was away from much of the fight whilst he was helping his father and organising battle plans. To know that Toph, the youngest one of them all, had taken a life was not something he had expected. She was hard and strong - but he never knew she had been capable.

"You- you killed someone?" he asked timidly.

Toph rocked her head back and forth in an affirmative answer. Her entire face was blank. "Didn't you ever wonder why I refused to help in the after-war movement? To help Sparky or Kuei?"

"Yeah... I just thought you didn't like being ordered around," Aang told her, and she gave a small laugh before they sobered up.

"Wait! Is- is that why you don't eat meat anymore?" he asked, the pieces finally falling into place.

"You noticed that?" Toph asked, surprised. She had never made the fact well-known, and although she didn't necessarily try to hide it she did try to cover her new eating habits with excuses, the most common being sick of it, or having eaten the vegetables first, she would say she was full.

"You stopped asking Sokka for jerky. And then you asked me to make you a fruit tart..."

Toph nodded slowly, resignation on her face. "I couldn't. Not after that. I can't- you never did it. You never had to-" She cut herself off, wiping clumsily at her eyes.

Pulling her onto his lap, Aang hugged her from behind. She sunk into his chest while he rocked gently.

"I just... I never want to fight again..." she whispered, turning her face to rest her head on his heart.

Lifting her head up with a long finger, Aang placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll make sure you never do."

* * *

**A/N: I have to stop with the cheesy endings... Oh, and you can thank AFL for the second definition. **

**You have no idea how long I've wanted to use this idea for. Like, a really, really long time... Oh, and what she said about people being lighter when they die - yeah, not necessarily true. I just thought it would be a good addition to the story :)**


	6. Day Six - Lies

Lies

_noun_  
an intentionally false statement

* * *

Grinning, Toph held her hand up in a display of familiarity as Aang walked through the door of the Jasmine Dragon, Katara and Sokka following close behind.

"Toph!"

"What's up, Twinkletoes! Sugar Queen, Snoozles," Toph added, cocking her head in their direction. "You're late, what were you doing? Shopping?"

"Nu-uh." Sokka's whining voice carried through the full shop as he sat opposite her. "I lost track of time with Suki. You're early. Don't you have other friends to hang out with?"

"Yeah, but I didn't lose track of time." Taking a sip of her tea, her small frown was missed by her friends as they sat around the table.

"So, what did you need me for?" Toph asked, setting down the cup with a little more force than necessary. By this stage, Sokka had his mouth full of bread, so he waved his hand in Aang's direction. The young airbender picked up the conversation.

"The King needs extra security at the party tonight, and I suggested you. I can't make it because Zuko has asked me to meet him at Ember Island and naturally Sokka insisted he tag along."

"And I've commissioned Suki for my classes, so they can practice some offensive waterbending against non-benders, and we just won't have time," Katara added, taking a small sip of the cinnamon chai that one of the waitresses placed in front of her.

"Ahh. And what if I have plans?" Toph asked, eyebrow raised. Sokka let out a small bark of laughter, though was quickly silenced by a glare shot at him by Katara.

"Oh, well, I just... didn't think you did..." Aang mumbled, a frown on his face.

"Yep. Big plans I have a uh... a date. Sorry." If Toph had been speaking to them on the telephone, she would have been banging her head into the wall by this stage. A date?! Really?

She heard Sokka snort again while Aang choked on his tea. Toph's heart sped up as Katara squealed, moving her chair to sit next to the blind girl.

"Oh, really?! What's his name, do I know him? Oh, where did you meet? Can I help you find a dress? I know-"

"Woah, Katara, chill," Toph interrupted, her face reddening. "It's uh... his name is... Kai. He's an earthbender. We uh... he came to one of my classes once..."

Katara was beaming so much the blind girl could feel it, but she was too busy regretting her brash excuse.

"Why have we never heard about him before?" Aang asked, and Toph searched madly for an excuse - any excuse.

"Oh, well, I haven't seen him in a while and then he... he asked if I wanted to go out and I said yes," she stuttered in panic.

"It's okay to be embarrassed Toph," Katara told her, pulling the blind girl in for a hug.

"Thanks, Sweetness... I have to go um, get ready. I'll talk to you later..."

Standing up swiftly, Toph left a small pile of coins on the table as she walked from the tea shop. She could hear her friends still discussing the strange turn of events and she picked up her pace.

Toph hadn't actually had any plans, but this wasn't the first instance that Aang or Sokka had called her up to give a speech that they were supposed to do, or meet a dignitary while they did something else. Counting silently in her head, she could think of at least four other cases where her friends (Sokka mostly) had organised something else to do. With a scowl, she realised that most of the time they got her to work while they did something "coupley". Just because she was single didn't mean that she didn't have a life - she had her own job running the Dai Li and teaching earthbending to the lower classes of Ba Sing Se; she couldn't keep picking up their work - especially when they expected she would.

Entering her large home and making her way to the backyard, Toph walked into the earthen tent she slept in and quickly changed out of her guard's uniform and into something more comfortable. Katara hated it when she wore her track pants, but her previous plan was still in effect - stay at home and bake a fruit tart. The only difference was that it wasn't for Aang's five years outside of the iceberg, it was for her to eat and feel better about herself.

Fruit tarts were notoriously difficult to make, and after several hours of attempting to cook the dried pastry and burning her arms yet again on hot fruit, Toph considered giving up. It really was too much trouble just for comfort food. Luckily, the door rang just as she was about to throw it through a window.

Answering the door, it took Toph about two seconds to realise that she was supposed to be on a date, and it was obvious she had been in the kitchen for some time. When Aang stepped under the eaves, she knew he knew it too.

"Hey, Toph. I didn't expect you to be here," he said, frowning. Toph laughed, hiding her discomfort

"You're lying. Why else would you come here?"

"Like you did today? I could tell..."

Toph's face erupted in a heated blush and she stumbled on her way back to the kitchen.

"I don't know what you mean, Aang," she denied, picking up a rolling pin and squishing the drying pie crust. She heard him go over to the cutting board and begin chopping up the different types of fruit she had bought for the occasion.

He didn't reply, and the only noise came from the two friends as they prepared Toph's pie. Between the two of them, it only took ten minutes or so before the dish was sitting in her fire stove, cooking slowly.

"Why did you lie?" Aang asked while they were waiting for it to cook. Toph had lad him to her lounge room and sat on the floor, still not saying anything.

"Why did you?" she countered, and he laughed.

"Because I don't know why you did, and I wanted to find out," he said, and Toph huffed. "It wasn't because you felt... lonely... was it?"

Toph snorted at him. "Really, Twinkletoes? Out of everything you know about me, you think I'd make up a fake boyfriend so I didn't seem lonely?"

"Hah! You just admitted he was fake!" Aang jumped up, crying out in glee. Toph promptly socked him in the arm, still frowning but a smile threatening to break through.

"Shut up. Fine, he was fake; I made him up. But not for the reasons you think," she was quick to add.

"Well, why then?"

"Ugh," she groaned, slapping her forehead. "I did it because I'm sick of you taking me for granted. You just expected me to drop everything to come to your rescue, while you go to a beach. Not exactly fair, Aang."

"Oh... I didn't think of that. Gee, I'm really sorry Toph... You know, you could have just said that instead of faking a boyfriend," he grinned. Toph returned it and stood up.

"Nah, I couldn't have. Katara would have told me that it's my job to help the King just because I'm part of the Guard. Lying was the easiest - it got me out of going, and it got her off my back about never dating anyone."

"Yeah, she's pretty ruthless," Aang agreed, eliciting an inelegant snort from his youngest friend.

"You think? Why do you think I made up having a... ugh... a _date_? She's already tried hooking me up with almost every other guard, her students - you know she even started suggesting the girls at the Five-Seven-Five society?"

Aang laughed at this, earning himself a punch and a glare.

"What?!"

"Nothing," he answered, still giggling slightly. "But she's worse than Poppy, isn't she?"

Toph let out her own laugh at this. "You said it. Hey, you want some pie? I was just gonna pig out, but I guess I should be nice to my guest, huh?"

"I'd love some!"

Toph went to the stove and carefully pulled the hot dish from it using a cloth. The two friends spent the night, several blocks away from the largest party ever held in the Upper Ring, eating burnt homemade fruit tarts and talking about the best attributes to give fake dates.

* * *

**A/N: hah, I bet you thought that was gonna be super angsty, huh? :D**

**Ps. I forgot to mention that yesterday's one was by far my favourite. Just throwing that out there ^_^**


	7. Day Seven - Realisation

Realisation

_noun_ [**in singular**]  
1. [an] act of becoming fully aware of something as a fact

* * *

As he watched her dance, he couldn't help a small pang of hurt seep into his heart. Katara was free to choose another - he didn't own her - but on the flip-side he wished that she had been a little more covert about her intentions with the Fire Lord. Aang liked Zuko, he really did; he couldn't even harbour negative thoughts about him when he thought about all the good he was doing in the world - much more than himself, at any rate.

It had only been two months since the mutual split (or rather, Katara voicing her opinion and intentions, and him being unable to stop her leaving), and already Katara was smiling and dancing and - dare he say it - _flirting_ with other people, while he, the Avatar, guest of honour at the Third Annual End of the Hundred Year War Celebration and Commemoration, was unable to get a single girl to talk to him.

He had to admit that he wasn't really actively searching for a dance partner, but neither was he doing anything to drive them away. Aside from purposely avoiding his ex-girlfriend and her date, the Fire Lord (and Sokka and Suki, who would fuss that he didn't have a date) Aang was really trying to be friendly. He would mingle with the crowd, but eventually all the conversations would turn political. He had been asked every question under the sun, from "what are the plans for the former Fire Lord?" to "can we expect any air maidens soon?", and he thought he would probably enter the Avatar State if he had to repeat himself again.

He was soon proven mistaken, when a young lady came up to him and asked if he wanted to dance. Well, the actual words she used were, "Get your ass over here, Twinkletoes, and dance with me. My parents are looking, and have even added The Duke to my ever-growing list of prospective husbands. I need to distract them."

"Toph!" he cried as she pulled him to the middle of the room, but he couldn't stop the happy note from entering his voice as they left behind the group of old men he had been unable to excuse himself from.

"Aang!" she mimicked, grinning. They began swaying in time with the music as she put her hands around his neck; it was at that moment he realised that she really had every intention of dancing. Nervously, he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Toph laughed, a subdued version of her Blind Bandit cackle, and grabbed his hands.

"You sure you're not a girl, Aang?" she teased, placing them on her waist. He blushed bright red as she raised her hands, cocking her head as they remained held aloft in the space between them.

"Toph?" he asked, unsure of why she had kept her hands between them; despite knowing extraordinarily little about dancing, he was sure that she was supposed to put them on his shoulders.

"Not gonna cut it, Twinks," she said, ignoring his querying tone as her hands reached for his and, without ceremony or shame, moved them to cup her buttocks.

"Toph!" he cried, wheeling back. Or, he would have had she not grasped his shoulders.

"What?" she said angrily, reaching for his hands again and placing them in the same position. This time, he didn't take them off, although he was blushing such a brilliant shade of vermillion that Toph could _feel_ it.

"W-what are you doing?"

"_You_," she enunciated, "are dancing. _I_ am fooling my parents. Don't move your hands."

"Why are you fooling your parents?" he asked, focussing on her eyes as he tried to ignore her threatening gaze and the feel of taut muscle beneath his palms. Her hair had been pulled back loosely, ensuring it didn't fall on her face but rather frame it as it was set in an elaborate top-knot. Her brilliant green orbs had been defined by dark kohl, and she had gorgeous green eye-shadow on. Trailing his eyes down her button nose, he noted that she had also allowed someone to put dark red lipstick on, making her lips seem fuller. When she smiled, like she was currently, he could see the pretty straight teeth, white against the red of her lips.

"They're compiling a list of husbands for me."

"As if they could force you anyway," he laughed, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Spirits, she had really grown!

"Nah. They're trying to guilt-trip me instead. Would you believe they asked me if I bat for the other team?"

"... You- you don't, do you?"

Toph raised her head and laughed, an honest giggle that he hadn't heard in a long time.

"No, Aang, I'm into guys," she said, putting her head back on his shoulder.

"Oh, cool. Why haven't you ever dated anyone then? Surely that would get your parents off your back?"

"Yeah, well, I've never bothered with dating. Never been anyone, I guess. Anyway, it doesn't matter, my parents aren't as controlling as they used to be - they just want me to be happy. They can't help but be a little traditional though. Honestly, if Katara wasn't already taken, I think they would put her on the list, too," she joked, laughing. Aang offered a weak smile at the mention of the waterbender, but his heart skipped a beat that Toph picked up almost straight away.

"What is it?" she asked, eyes narrowing. Unable to see properly in the large crowd, Toph didn't notice when she almost swayed into another couple. Aang had, though, and twirled her out of the way.

"What's up with you and Katara, Aang?" she asked, her use of his actual name ensuring him that she was quite serious.

"We uh, we broke up," he said quietly. To his shock, Toph only snorted. "What?!"

"You broke up," she repeated incredulously, "or she dumped you? Judging by your heartbeat, and hers, I'd say it was the latter."

"Fine, whatever, she dumped me. And now she's happy with Sparky over there, and I'm stuck here. You're lucky you don't like anyone."

Toph's eyes widened, and she looked away, but he was too upset to take any notice of it.

"You're the first person to ask me to dance. Hell, I think some of the _girls_ have asked her. She's happy and I have no-one."

They had moved across the room and were swaying next to the buffet table when Toph stopped and took a step back, breaking contact.

"Thanks for the dance, Aang," she said quietly, a small frown on her face. Before he could say anything about it, she turned around and walked into the crowd, shaking her head. He stared after her for a moment, before he noticed Sokka sauntering up to him, a plate piled high with food. He didn't have a chance to escape as the Water Tribe warrior noticed him.

"Aang! What's up with Toph? She looked really pissed about something..." he said, picking up a dim sum and shoving it into his mouth. Aang looked at him quizzically, stealing a spring roll from the top of the plate.

"What do you mean? She was fine before..."

"I dunno... She just seemed sad..." Sokka told him around the food. "What did you say to her?"

"I dunno! We were talking about how her parents want her to get married, and then she brought up me and Katara..."

"... And?"

"And... well, I said that Katara was lucky that she had someone and I didn't, and Toph was lucky she didn't like anyone..."

Aang cast his gaze over the crowd. Katara was still dancing with Zuko, and he could see various nobles milling about, but no Toph. He looked back at Sokka, who had an angry glare.

"Why would you say that to her?"

Aang cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"Ugh," Sokka groaned as he slapped his forehead, "and they call me oblivious. She's a girl. A fifteen year old girl - of course she likes someone. You probably really hurt her feelings, you know."

"Wha-? I don-"

"Go and apologise! Now! Before I set Suki on you."

Aang grimaced. For some reason, Suki had become remarkably close to the blind girl, surpassing even Katara on the friendship ladder. Aang did not want to cross an irate Kyoshi Warrior, and quickly left Sokka, who had gone back to his food.

Glancing around the hall, he searched for any sign of the blind earthbender. She had probably sought out Suki. Looking around for the unique head of red hair, he quickly spotted the Kyoshi Warrior seated at a table. His hunch was proven correct as he saw Toph's unique shade of hair - it was black, but seemed to glow with an unearthly quality under the bright lights of the hall. The two females were sitting perpendicular to him, and he could see the features of both of them. Sokka had been right; Toph looked royally pissed off. Moving closer to her, he could see that she wasn't just angry. She seemed almost sad, too.

"- And he didn't even notice. I mean, what more could I do?"

Toph hadn't noticed him approaching amongst the myriad of strange footsteps and heartbeats, and he quickly stopped walking so as not to alert her. Suki looked around and caught his eye, but didn't say anything.

"What did you do exactly, Honey?"

"I did what you said! The whole dancing thing... he has really nice shoulders. And he smells different to anyone else. All sort of woody, but with a crisp winter breeze."

With a start, Aang realised that she was talking about him. And, was that a blush? Or was it just the lighting? Man, it was getting hot in there, maybe some fresh air would do him good.

Instead of obeying him, though, his legs remained rooted on the spot as he eavesdropped on the conversation.

"Why don't you just tell him how you feel?" Suki offered, rubbing her hand over Toph's. The blind girl snorted humourlessly.

"Yeah, right; be laughed at for my trouble? No thanks."

Suki frowned unhappily, and fixed Aang with an accusing glare. "Look, Toph. This is different than Sokka-"

_Wait, she liked Sokka?_

"-and you know it is. You won't stop being friends, but you can't keep this to yourself. It's gonna destroy you... I just want what's best for you, Honey."

_Hold on... If they're talking about me... and how she used to like Sokka..._

Aang's legs finally began listening, although the steering needed to be worked on because before he knew it he was standing in front of Toph.

"Toph?"

The earthbender looked towards him, surprised by his sudden appearance. If she suspected him of eavesdropping she didn't show it though.

Suki stood up from the table with a final rub of Toph's hand, excusing herself to look for her husband. Aang sat in the warm chair and picked up the blind girl's tiny fist; she yanked it from his grasp, but he took it back anyway.

"You know what I just figured out, Toph?" he mumbled quietly. She exhaled loudly through her nose as a sign of acknowledgement, but made no other move to tell him she heard his statement, or was interested in conversing with him.

"I just figured out you like me-"

She jerked her hand back, a desperate snarl on her face, but once again, he picked it up and began stroking it.

"-I just figured out you like me," he repeated as though there hadn't been an interruption, "and I think I realised that I like you too. It might not be as strong or as powerful as what you feel for me... but... I think of it as like a seedling. My feelings for you are just like a small sapling that needs to be watered and fed, whereas you've already nurtured a giant oak tree. If you give me time... well, I'm sure I'll catch up eventually."

She looked at him for a second, a red blush seeping into her face as her hand trembled in his. Without a word she stood from the table and walked into the crowd. Aang sighed and put his hands in his head. He honestly didn't know what he felt for the small bender - who was almost as tall as him now - but he knew it was love. It was different than the love he felt for Katara, and different from the familial love he had been exposed to as a young child. While he couldn't say for sure if he was _in_ love with her, he could definitely say he loved her.

Letting his head drop to the wooden table with a resounding and satisfactory _thump_, Aang ignored the other partygoers, and they him. He wasn't sure how long he had sat there, feeling a small lump develop on his forehead, but he did know what a surprise it was when someone approached him.

"Get up. I want another dance." The sharp, beautiful, loud, poignant voice of Toph Bei Fong reached his ears and he stood up quickly as she led him to the middle of the room once again.

Being a little more cautious this time, he put his hands on her hips - judging by the blush, it was the right thing to do. He had debated (momentarily) placing them on her butt again, but quickly discarded the idea. She was probably still pissed that he had heard her.

Slowly, they began to sway with the music, remaining silent all the while. Finally, Aang couldn't stand the oppressive lack of communication, and asked a question.

"Why did you come back?"

She gave a wry smile, not quite as big as usual, but genuine all the same.

"I had to talk to my parents."

Immediately, thoughts of horrible deaths and torture flooded Aang's mind as he realised that he had essentially insulted one of the richest men in the world by assuming the worst of his only daughter.

"And?" he managed to ask in a strangled voice.

"I asked how long it took for an oak tree to grow..."

* * *

A/N: hooray for more cheesy one-liners! I have to say that I actually liked that one though.

Also, Toph putting Aang's hands on her butt was directly influenced and inspired by roca dos's story, Practise Makes Perfect.


End file.
